What the helmet?

By Phil Hecken, on November 7th, 2010

By Phil Hecken

I’m not much of a helmet guy, I’ll be the first to admit. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a Schutt and a Riddell. And frankly, I don’t want to know. But with all this talk of concussions, helmet-to-helmet hits and development of new technologies and such, helmets seem to be in the news a lot these days.

The helmet in football has a long and glorious history, and someday we’ll delve into that, but for now, lets just suffice it to say that was once merely a piece of safety equipment has morphed into a vital and integral part of the uniform. It’s become a canvas, much like a baseball cap has always been. In college, many teams have “alternate” helmets — hell, Oregon currently has four, and I’m not even sure if they retired the fifth, although they haven’t worn it in two years.

But, for whatever reason, in the NFL, teams are restricted to ONE official helmet (with the exception of throwback helmets). This really makes no sense. I’m sure it has to do with “official” merchandise and the like, but really — since they aren’t exactly doing a huge business in fan helmets, but they could increase the bottom line by having more than one “official mug” or “official snuggie” or whatever, you’d think the NFL would actually LOVE the idea.

Clearly, some teams would do it. Remember when the Seahawks had the fans vote for the blue or silver helmet back in 2002? And my memory may be failing me, but I believe the Texans also had fan voting to select the helmet they would wear. But because the NFL say “no second helmet for you,” teams wear what they wear. This isn’t usually a big problem, and for most teams, one helmet is fine.

Sometimes, however, a team’s official helmet makes no sense given their color scheme. Sure, some helmets kinda go, but I’m of the school that, with very few exceptions, a helmet should at least either match the pants or the jersey. When it matches neither it throws off my OCD.

In Friday’s comments, The Jeff mentioned, “I think the NFL has enough white helmets. If anything, the Jets should go back to green. The NFL has one green helmet (which is far too dark), and 6 white helmets (and an additional 3 worn as throwbacks). Enough with the freakin white.” (There are also 5 silver-helmeted teams). Now, I happen to like white helmets but it got me to thinking, rather than “eliminate” the teams with white helmets, why not just do what the NCAA already does and permit one additional helmet per team? Not every team needs one, of course, but might not some teams look better with a “second” option? I discussed this with The Jeff and he agreed (I know, you’re shocked). And between us, we came up with about half of the NFL as candidates for (although we would not advocate for) a second helmet option. The following are merely suggestions. Except for perhaps doing a color swap on a logo or stripe, we’ve left the original helmet in tact, except for the color.

~~~

NFC East:

Giants: The team probably the most in need of a second helmet is the New York Football Giants. Yes, we all understand that the current road uniform is basically a throwback, but that doesn’t mean they got it right back then. Let the G-men wear a red helmet on the road already.

Eagles: None needed

Redskins: Jeff might like to see them in a gold helmet. I’d like them to just get rid of their current one. The burgundy is fine.

Cowboys: They wear a white helmet with their throwback, but what’s more annoying is the helmet and pants are different shades. Simple solution. Get the two to match (thanks to The Jeff for the graphic).

~~~

NFC North:

Bears: None needed.

Packers: Definitely not needed. The Pack are perfect.

Lions: None needed.

Vikings: The helmet isn’t the problem. And when you see their uniforms today, you’ll agree. But what if they wore a gold helmet? (Blame The Jeff for that.)

~~~

NFC South:

Falcons: The dirty birds have vascillated between red and black throughout their history, so a red helmet doesn’t seem so odd. Looks better with the red jersey, anyway.

Panthers: Another team that doesn’t match either jersey or pants with their helmet, so the Panthers are a prime candidate for a second lid. The “Panther Blue” would match the blue jersey and the pants stripe.

~~~

NFC West:

49ers: Nope. They’re finally approaching perfection (just gotta do something about those sleeve stripes). No second helmet needed. Of course, The Jeff would like a red facemask to return.

Seahawks: Well, they wanted a silver helmet back when they changed uniforms. But unless they want to wear silver pants, then a silver helmet doesn’t really make any sense. The current “drab” blue matches everything. But, how about a navy helmet when they break out the navy pants?

Rams: The Rams have problems, but their helmet is not one of them. No need for a second helmet.

Cardinals: Other than the Bills, and arguably, the Vikings, the Cardinals are the worst attired team in football. But for the most part, that white helmet is a classic. Really, they shouldn’t be wearing what they’re wearing underneath such beauty. But, as long as they are flushing tradition down the toilet, then they may as well have a second helmet. But it had better be red. (Thanks, Jeff)

~~~

AFC East:

Patriots: Another of the five silver-helmeted teams, at least theirs matches their pants. Well, sometimes. So the Patriots could use a second topper — when they’re not wearing silver.

New York Jets: I personally LOVE them in the white helmet, but The Jeff would like to see them back in green. I think it’s a mistake, but what do I know?

Miami Dolphins: The Fish have remained pretty much unchanged since they entered the AFL with that south Floridian white, but what if they had the option of an aqua lid? I didn’t think so. Sorry The Jeff, that’s one white helmet that has to stay.

Buffalo Bills: There is so much wrong with this train wreck of a uniform that adding a second helmet probably couldn’t do any more harm. Returning to white is out, but how about royal blue? Hey, that’s actually not too bad.

Colts: They threw back to a blue helmet in the preseason, but honestly, they’ve been wearing that white helmet since 1956. No need for two lids for the Colts.

Titans: This team has three tops and three pairs of pants, but only one helmet? Imagine what they could do with a second hat — OK, some of the combos would be awful, but some could work. It would be even nicer if they’d fix the striping to match the pants in the process.

Texans: Another team that could do with another helmet. Like the Titans, they too have three pairs of pants and three jerseys. Unlike the Titans, they don’t match when they wear the blue lid with the red. So, how about a red helmet for when they wear their “battle red”? No? Well, how about just a second white helmet then.

Jaguars The Jaguars may have actually solved the “one helmet per team” rule. Depending on how the light hits it, it’s either black or teal. Yeah, that’s the ticket.

Broncos: Unfortunately, or fortunately, their current helmet is sufficient.

Raiders: Yeah, right.

Chargers: Our last team has also worn several different colored helmets in their history, so what about adding a powder blue option? (Last graphic courtesy of The Jeff.)

~~~

So what do you think, Uni Watchers? Should the NFL permit teams to wear an alternate helmet (other than the already permitted throwback)? The rule against a second helmet seems not only pointless, but also goes against their philosophy of selling as much merchandise as possible. Sure, there’s no market (really) for fan helmets, but think about all the t-shirts, mugs, clothing, stationery, etc. they could move if you added another “helmet logo” to the list. And if the NFL were ever to adopt an NCAA-like policy of permitting multiple helmets, who would be your candidate(s)?

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Uni Tweaks

Catching up with the tweaks, but they keep coming in (which is good), so lots to get to today. If you have a tweak, change or concept for any sport, send them my way.

You guys have been pretty great keeping to the ~50 word limit per team tweak, and it’s greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Now, on to today’s tweaks:

~~~

Starting off the show is Joel Zimmerman, who has two NHL tweaks for us:

Next up is Terry Duroncelet, who has 2 baseball and 2 football tweaks for us:

Hey!

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone for the kind words from my first submission (10/17/10) =). Now then, on to the tweaks.

Saints: My favorite football team. I standardized the helmet and pants stripes, made the cuffs match the collars, switched the home number color scheme, and gave them one shade of gold. I also threw in some classic socks.

Braves: My favorite baseball team. I got rid of the nameplates (reffer to Chris Creamer’s website rendering), brought back the two-tone cap for the road uniform, and brought back the Milwaukee-Era striped hosiery.

Indians: Made the current Fauxback the primary home, gave it an accompanying road set/with striped socks to give it life.

As always, thank you for your time.

Take care,

-Terry D.

~~~

And closing out the concepts today is Michael Zupon, with his “KUniform”:

I started from the basis that the “KU” on the helmet was dull, then realized that a blue Jayhawk on a blue helmet didn’t pop. Lost the grey pants, because they looked bland as well, and separated the red from the blue with white piping where needed to keep them from blending to purple. Okay for a first effort, I suppose.

Regards,
Michael Zupon

~~~

Thanks to all the tweakers today. Back next weekend with more!

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Tracking The Playoffs

Throughout the playoffs, Alex Rocklein kept track of the unis worn by each of the eight post-season combatants. It was pretty neat — he tracked playoff teams wins & losses, not only by their wins and losses, but also by uniform!

With the World Series now just a distant memory, and a =big= congrats to the Giants, Alex has sent me the final results of baseball’s second season.

Says Alex, “Giants were impressive in the road greys but even more so in the home creams going 5-1.” Indeed. Thanks for all your efforts.

~~~~~~~~~~

Trackin’ the Ducks

UW #1 Seahawks Fan Michael Princip has been tracking the Oregon Ducks and all of their 2,456 possible uniform combinations this season. He’ll be updating it after each game.

The Ducks are definitely for real. But you knew that already. Yesterday, I took them despite a minus thirty-six point spread, and for a while, it was very dicey. They rewarded my faith in them, however, defeating Washington, ekeing out a 37-point victory. *Phew*. Anyway, the Ducks are now 9-0, (6-0 in the PAC-10) and have set their sights not on Pasadena, but on Glendale.

Mike has been busy with some tasty updates to the tracker, so without further ado, here is the man:

Well, they didn’t quite look like the Ninja Ducks last year, yet that was only because the game yesterday was a 1:30 PM start, and not as cold as the night game last season when they wore the full on Ninja suits against Arizona St. I have to say, I am not the biggest fan of this all black look, and even felt the Huskies out stylized them with their all whites and gold helmet. I was really hoping the Ducks would wear a throwback today, because of my special uniform flashback entry in the Duck Tracker today. Yet, they wore what they wore, the kids like ’em and they WON! The Ducks started off a little slow, yet kicked it in gear in the 2nd half, and came out with a 53-16 win against the Huskies. Big time milestone for the Ducks being that they are 9-0 for the first time in Ducks history. Simply awesome!

• Got a note from Brian Shane, who had sent this to me (and it was featured in the tweaks section a while back): “No lie, I PhotoShopped this up myself, and on a crazy whim sent a copy of this in the mail to Nats management six months ago, with a quaint for-your-consideration note. Now Paul is saying that this design leaked in the last week or so. Coincidence? We will have to see what the real one looks like when it’s unveiled on Wednesday. Note the difference: My “N” is an upside-down and jury-rigged version of the team’s iconic curly W.”

Brian, I’ve seen the new design, and it’s safe to say it looks nothing like that. Funny how that “phony” design got such legs though. Maybe we all wanted it to look like that.

• Remember when the Minnesota Vikings had a uniform snafu and dressed like this? Unless your name is Ricko, you probably don’t, but you may remember when they thought it might be a good idea to reprise that look in 2007. Well, if you missed either of those gems, fear not, because they’ll be dressing like that again today. How the mighty have fallen — one Farve interception away from the Super Bowl and now they’ll be channeling Violet Beauregarde again. Ouch.

• • And Finally — Attention All Colorizers: In case you missed it, yesterday I put out the call for a few good men to help Terry Proctor with some colorizations. Hopefully a couple of you can help out. Drop me a line if you’re interested. Here are the three photo’s Terry is looking to have colorized: Stan Smrke, Mike Nykoluk and Tommy Williams. See yesterday’s post for the color specs. THANKS!

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5 & 1

And now, the part of the post you’ve all been waiting for: The 5 & 1. More than a few games in the running for the five open spots yesterday, but probably even more (thanks to the Wounded Warrior Project) in the hunt for the Mothervilker.

Lets see how Jim did:

~~~

Honorable Mention to Northwestern/Penn State: A decent matchup, but more importantly, congrats to a very decent guy, Joe Paterno on his 400th win (and yes, I’d wear JoePa’s outfit, glasses and all).

5.Air Force/Army: Army’s “dress grays” are good, but those fabulous Thunderbirds unis are some powerful stuff.

That’s it…last time I place my Mothervilker bets with Charlie Samuels.

~~~~~~~~~~

OK, boys and girls, that’s all for this first Sunday in November. Everyone have a great rest of the weekend.

~~~

TCU and Utah are playing in one of biggest, most-watched games in both school’s respective histories ”“ and they both wear gimmick uniforms ”“ isn’t that a form of disrespect to their primary uniforms ”“ isn’t it the equivalent of the cadets at the Naval academy wearing football uniforms on graduation day. — “Oakville Endive”

153 comments to What the helmet?

One of these days I’m going to have to send in all 32 NFL uniform concepts I’ve got saved… and maybe a few more new ones. There’s a few teams that I can see “fixing” in multiple ways.

I would have liked to have added a few more images for today, but the timing just didn’t work out very well.

…and just to defend myself slightly, I don’t actually like that gold Vikings helmet either. I thought it looked bad as soon as I finished doing it.

scott|
November 7, 2010 at 8:08 am |

I appreciate the NFL’s policy limiting teams to one official helmet. I’m sure if it didn’t exist many teams would go crazy with their uniform combinations and the aesthetic of some league members would be even more of a disaster.

And for being a Hall of Famer, a lot of people still can’t spell Cal’s last name right. :)

The Jeff|
November 7, 2010 at 8:33 am |

Tell me though, would you rather see the New York Jets wearing navy & gold for 2 random games for seemingly no reason… or would you rather have them use a white helmet at home & a green helmet on the road?

I don’t think anyone wants NFL teams to start using as many combinations as the Oregon Ducks… but if a select couple of teams used a home & away helmet it really wouldn’t be that bad, would it?

JTH|
November 7, 2010 at 8:41 am |

Despite Phil’s insistence that the Packers are perfect, I have to say that their HOME unis are perfect (at least as far as the color combo) but their road unis pretty much suck. There’s way too much yellow.

I’d love to see them wear green helmets and pants with their white jerseys. Better yet, ditch the white jerseys altogether and wear green/gold/green on the road.

the insistence on a white jersey by the NFL at ALL times (except for thanksgiving in 2004) is another future weekend topic — in general, im not all that keen on color vs color games, but there are clearly times when it would work — powder blue/gold/silver … even the seahawks neon snot — all would work in color vs. color games

red vs blue? no

The Jeff|
November 7, 2010 at 10:22 am |

That should be a fun weekend…

JTH|
November 7, 2010 at 8:57 am |

What? Suggesting that the Packers make a change sends my comment to the moderation queue?

Everytime I see that Iowa State uniform, I think it is USC playing instead, especially in long distance play footage. Which is really confusing when they are playing Big 12 opponents. It is a classy look so I hate to ask, but I really which they changed to something else.

Flip|
November 7, 2010 at 5:25 pm |

Iowa State suffers from a case of changing its uniform too much over the years. It has a set now it can keep, and I agree it tops USC.

There are multiple differences between the Cyclones and the Men of Troy:

The Panthers had at one point considered “carolina blue” helmets. There was a popular movement calling for it, but the organization decided they did not want to look like the tarheels. They actually considered a black helmet instead.

One the best decisions in football helmet history was the Jets dumped this:

There was a rumor that they were going to ALT / THROWBACK to the LT-Simms unis…but I guess it was just that…a rumor…

Jon|
November 7, 2010 at 9:21 am |

Not a Giants fan, but I think of Big Blue when I think of them. You know, Joe Morris, LT, Phil Simms when you couldn’t hear him. Helmets look good now, they just need to remember that red is a trim color for them.

Ricardo Leonor|
November 7, 2010 at 9:22 am |

This was a better match to the helmet….but I never really liked it….plus its what they wore for that epic choke against the Niners in the playoffs:

I think the Giants look fantastic in their current road uni. In fact, I think they’d look even better if they’d lose the metallic paint on the helmet.

Skycat|
November 7, 2010 at 1:04 pm |

I agree with you about the Giants’ helmets, but I actually prefer the Jets wearing the green helmet, and in fact prefer to eliminate white helmets entirely. As others have stated, the teams’ helmets are representative of their identity. To take this a step further, I believe the major team color should be represented by the helmet.

I suspect this notion of multiple helmets arose because of some baseball teams’ obsession with multiple hats. If fans wish to purchase hats of other colors, they should be free to do so (so merchandizers can relax). There is only one team I can think of that really needs an alternate hat and that is the Tigers. If I’m not mistaken, they are the only team that does not incorporate all their colors in home and away uniforms. Now if the Tigers were consistent, they would incorporate orange into their home uniforms and this issue would be resolved.

zac|
November 8, 2010 at 1:33 am |

Please, please, please don’t touch the Tigers’ home uniforms! I beg of you!

I think in this one, it’s the jersey that kind of seems out of place….

JTH|
November 7, 2010 at 9:50 am |

Sure, but at least the overall look is balanced.

Joe DeAngelis|
November 7, 2010 at 10:55 pm |

no way, no way, no way !!! …terrible suggestion.

jdreyfuss|
November 7, 2010 at 9:20 am |

The Falcons should just go back to that red helmet full time. Some similar-colored logos and helmets work, but black on black just looks muddy.

Flip|
November 7, 2010 at 5:30 pm |

Agreed, though the red helmet needs stripes. White/black/white is OK, but including the original gold was the best.

Jon|
November 7, 2010 at 9:26 am |

Phil, another great weekend post…

To all: Asking for help now… I am looking for two logos for long defunct minor league hockey teams. I have exhausted my resources, though they are limited. I am looking for both the Nashville South Stars (late 70’s), and the (Nashville) Dixie Flyers (late 60’s – early 70’s). If anyone can refer me to a source that may help, I would greatly appreciate it. bar57988@yahoo.com

concealed78|
November 7, 2010 at 9:35 am |

I’m going to have to say ‘no’ to a red Cardinals helmet, in the interests of it having very poor contrast. I don’t understand why people want to bury a design in its own color. And I don’t think the Buccaneers should get a free pass just because they use a pewter helmet. I could make a case for them to be a white helmet:

The Carolina Robin Egg Shell blue is not terrible & could use a white stripe down the middle, but reminds me of the Chicago Police & the ’68 NDC. The Bears in a white or off-white helmet, or the Texans & Bills would all look good IMO:

I agree with you on all of those, but I think the point of this exercise, for The Jeff at least, was to limit the number of white helmets in use.

concealed78|
November 7, 2010 at 10:12 am |

I was going against the grain and saying we need MORE white helmets.

DJ|
November 7, 2010 at 9:40 am |

The Giants should remain in blue. I recall this site discussing how the Giants’ original colored (plastic) helmets were navy blue because of the limited number of color choices available at the time, and that when they finally went back to a contemporary version of their traditional uniform in the 2000s, they were able to make the helmets appear more royal blue by adding the metal flake.

Bears in anything but navy blue helmets is anathema.

In regard to why the NFL only allows one basic helmet, perhaps it’s because until recently, a graphic representation of the helmet also served as the team’s logo. With that thinking, more than one helmet would mean more than one logo, leading to brand dilution.

JTH|
November 7, 2010 at 10:55 am |

I know there’s some history for the Bears to occasionally wear white (and even orange) helmets, but, yeah, stick to the blue.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a throwback uni that features a white helmet somewhere down the road, though.

LI Phil|
November 7, 2010 at 10:05 am |

glad to see so many defenses of the giants in blue

just to be clear — the point of today’s exercise was to see what helmets might be changed to fit the uni — obviously, it would make much more sense, in many cases, to fix the uni than to force a helmet (giants red); the roads they wear now may be “historically” correct, but as i said in the lede, that doesn’t mean they got it right back then

and spanks — the packers unis are perfect, home and road

JTH|
November 7, 2010 at 10:25 am |

You didn’t expect a post like today’s to stick to the subject at hand without meandering, did you?

And I know you’re well aware of my allegiances, but I know a lot of Packers fans who agree with me.

LarryB|
November 7, 2010 at 10:20 am |

Mike, Great job on the 1925 Ducks colorization and on your history page. Looks very cool.

LarryB|
November 7, 2010 at 10:23 am |

I am a helmet buff and collector. Actually started to pay more attention to the helmets then uniforms.I have hundreds of gumballs, pocketpros and also mini helmets. A couple leather and a few full sized helmets too.

Does anybody here remember CNN Sports when they had the little Sharco mini helmets lined up on the set?

Leatherhead|
November 7, 2010 at 11:00 am |

Larry,

I recall that CNNSI show, very nice, I also am a helmet collector, I have a early 70’s full size Packers 2-bar helmet lamp, it seems as if the helmet part is not nearly hard to find as is the orignal shade (ugly) I still have both.

Leatherhead

LarryB|
November 7, 2010 at 11:04 am |

With a nickname like Leatherhead but of course. I used to think those lined up helmets were so cool.

Richard|
November 7, 2010 at 10:40 am |

Have to say, today’s exercise has successfully purged me ideas of what helmets do and do not work.

I thought I’d like the outcomes, but the concepts are nearly uniformly worse than what is on the field now.

The helmets must match jerseys or pants thing has joined the pursuit of matching all stripe patterns on a uniform as anal retentiveness that does nothing to enhance uniforms.

LI Phil|
November 7, 2010 at 10:44 am |

“The helmets must match jerseys or pants thing has joined the pursuit of matching all stripe patterns on a uniform as anal retentiveness that does nothing to enhance uniforms.”

fair enough, and i can certainly understand how you might feel that way

but do you really like what seems like random and deliberately mismatched stripe patterns? or do you just not care…

But I don’t want every team to look like that. A good number of them, yes. A few need to be deliberately mismatched, though, or else it offends my Organized Clutter Disorder.

Richard|
November 7, 2010 at 2:44 pm |

I can’t think of a time I’ve seen a uniform (in reality or concept form) where making the stripes match made the uniform better. It’s either value neutral or leaves the look seeming a little too fussed over.

dutchterp7|
November 7, 2010 at 10:58 am |

My thoughts exactly.

Marty|
November 7, 2010 at 10:45 am |

I first saw the Texans take the field was in Madden 2002 with their white helmets, and that’s always seemed right to me–especially as heirs to the Oilers, even if it would mean 3 teams in the AFC South with white helmets.

While I’ve wondered why the NFL doesn’t allow two helmets, I gotta say, I feel like the key to the contrasting helmet is looking different than the jersey – not the same. I think a lot of these changes look great if they are worn with the matching pants. Black or white helmet with color jersey, and color helmet with white jersey.

We might note that the two-helmet idea has been done before, with the ’69 Eagles wearing both a green and a white corresponding to home & away. Also I think the Cardinals alternated a red & a white lid in the days before they had a logo on it.

Put me down as favoring a single helmet for every team. The helmet is too important a symbol of brand identification in the NFL – switching colors around dilutes this connection. If you can’t fit all the league’s helmets on a metal lunchbox you have too many helmets. Anyway, as others touched upon, these color experiments would only lead to more of these awful color-on-same-color messes which are already the scourge of contemporary uni-design. That Jets mock-up, which they actually did wear, is one of the worst-looking NFL helmets I have seen.

Mike|
November 7, 2010 at 11:26 am |

Though I like the idea of matching jerseys and helmets in theory, there is a serious practical problem: The color of the helmet is often slightly off from that of the jersey, and the darker the color, the worse this is.

(In other words white helmets tend to work fine with white jerseys, but pretty much everything else is off enough to set of my OCDs.)

To be honest, I do not know why this is, but it seems as if it might be something as simple as the reflective qualities of hard plastic are different than those of whatever the heck jerseys are made out of these days.

Is there any way to change the finish on the helmets to fix this?

Mike

P.S.: As always, I love Jim Vilk’s 5 and 1 — it is borderline embarrassing how much I look forward to that column every week.

Jim Vilk|
November 7, 2010 at 11:37 am |

Where did you go to school? Because they just made it to #1 on next week’s list.

Nah, I can’t be bought, but thanks for the nice words. It’s fun to do it, so I’m glad others enjoy it. Phil had a great idea when he came up with this, eh?

Gill|
November 7, 2010 at 8:06 pm |

I hope you will be doing basketball unis. If waiting for your Sunday notes is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.

Jim Vilk|
November 7, 2010 at 9:21 pm |

I wanted to do basketball last year, but Phil made a good point – 300+ teams, playing all through the week…that’s a bit too much to take on. College football has just about the right amount of teams to do a list. Thanks, though.

Jerry|
November 7, 2010 at 11:28 am |

Can someone whip up a Black Raiders helmet, just for giggles? That might be interesting to see…

Jim Vilk|
November 7, 2010 at 11:38 am |

I wouldn’t wear it (just ’cause I don’t like the Raiders), but I’d like to see it, too.

LI Phil|
November 7, 2010 at 11:42 am |

never did one as an overall uni mockup, but here or here are some templates

The Jeff|
November 7, 2010 at 11:56 am |

If you’re going to use a black helmet, the guy on the logo needs to wear one too. Same reason the Dolphins aqua concept doesn’t really work.

I’m not advocating for an aqua Dolphins helmet, but your reason against it makes no sense. We already have a dolphin wearing a helmet with an “M” logo instead of the actual helmet logo (and no facemask), but if his doesn’t change to aqua also that’s what throws you?

As for the Raiders, the logo has a clearly old style helmet (large ear coverings, no facemask), but you argue it would need to change to black to match a new black Raiders lid?

I’m with Richard above when he said nearly every new color was worse that what is currently used. There’s nothing wrong with a white helmet, and there is nothing wrong with a helmet that doesn’t duplicate the jersey and/or pants. It is a team color? Does it coordinate? Yes?– Works for me. I can appreciate the curiosity, but some of these weekend projects are becoming exercises in reinventing the wheel, only this time, let’s see if we can make it square!

“What, no KSU vs. Texas? No Colorado vs. Kansas? Not even in the top five?”

When I made my preliminary list (usually about seven or eight contenders), both matchups were on there. Ariz./Stanford and Air Force surprised me, though. Heck, I had Bama/LSU penciled in all week at #1. That’s why I love the list – I never know it until I actually see the pics.

=bg=|
November 7, 2010 at 11:49 am |

I have long maintained teams should have home/away helmets. Another revenue stream for a league that sorely needs the bucks.

Of course, the Niners will be terrible in a gold OR red helmet.

RS Rogers|
November 7, 2010 at 12:39 pm |

Titans and Chargers should both wear light blue helmets. Cardinals should wear a dark red helmet so that they have a colored helmet but the logo still pops. Easy fixes, and the NFL would be down to three white helmets. Two teams that use white as a primary team color, and a sort of special dispensation for the Dolphins on account of their logo kind of requiring a white background to work.

What about two-color helmets instead of two helmets? Make the blank side of the Steelers gold instead of black, for example, or make the Saints gold with a black fleur on one side and black with a gold fleur on the other. Probably something that would work better for a newer franchise like the Texans, Panthers, or Jags.

The Jeff|
November 7, 2010 at 12:45 pm |

Oy. Even I draw the line at split colored helmets. That’s just a step too far. Maybe the crazier fans could wear something like that if their team is one that used 2 helmets, but on the field? I dunno man.

And, yeah, I was thinking of the dopey mono-camo.
Right up there with tuxedo hockey jerseys.
But at least there’s a sense of humor about the hockey jerseys.
Not so with the camo. Just plain overstated and underthought. Almost always the result of such an effort is a disaster of self-importance.

Like the commercial where the Saints and Jets show up to play a footbal ame in woods. Perfect comment on the NFL: Impressed with its own importance and overdone.

—Ricko

Ricko|
November 7, 2010 at 1:31 pm |

Don’t care. When the state of things has disintegrated to this point, why bother.

It’s like debating which of the women in the bar tonight is the ugliest. We could call it making the best of bad situation, but it’s still a waste of time.

—Ricko

Jim Vilk|
November 7, 2010 at 1:32 pm |

Hey, someone utilized your stripes in the tweaks, Ricko. It’s not all bad in uni-land today.

=bg=|
November 7, 2010 at 1:09 pm |

allllllll purple.

And PL’s head goes boom.

Jim Vilk|
November 7, 2010 at 1:12 pm |

Love the tweaks as always. Didn’t think I’d like a Jayhawks white helmet (was going to suggest red), but once I saw it I changed my mind. Best of a great set of tweaks.

Skycat|
November 7, 2010 at 1:20 pm |

Until I saw Phil’s mockup of the Chiefs’ helmet, I would have taken issue with you but it is a perfect example of your point. What seems right in theory often does not work well in practice. While the addition of a yellow stripe accomplishes the goal of incorporating yellow into the helmet, it really does not work aesthetically. I still think there needs to be some yellow in the helmet. This may be one case where a white helmet would work so you would have an open canvas to add red and yellow.

Jim Vilk|
November 7, 2010 at 1:27 pm |

The only change I would make to the Chiefs helmet is this: make the black outline of the arrowhead a yellow outline. Leave the rest of that wonderful uniform alone.

Not against the two-helmet concept, though. I think it should be an option, but not a mandate. Some teams could (and maybe should) stay with one, while others would look better with two.

Skycat|
November 7, 2010 at 2:45 pm |

I had actually considered your suggestion for the Chiefs’ helmet. Would like to see how it actually looks, though.

I also really like the idea of the Cardinals in a red helmet but I don’t know how you create enough contrast between the cardinal logo and the helmet itself.

Skycat|
November 7, 2010 at 1:24 pm |

My above reply should actually be in response to Richard’s comment above (10:40 am). Somehow, things got out of whack.

Oh, come on now. That’s just nitpicking. The Trojans’ jerseys and helmets do match, but it’s not a perfect match because of the difficulties in perfectly color-matching the different materials.

Oh, wait…

LI Phil|
November 7, 2010 at 2:43 pm |

this tasteless uniform is a good indication of the lack of sartorial invention within…the unform growth of this team cannot even be charted…they are treading water in a sea of retarded mismatches and bad colorschemes

Austin|
November 7, 2010 at 5:38 pm |

Sorry i should have been more clear, i was talking about Arizona state

thom|
November 7, 2010 at 1:57 pm |

re: zimmerman tweaks
love the stars tweaks… those were the idea i had but you beat me to it, oh well
preds are okay kind of standard nhl

sunday min vikings: i can deal with purple a little but this is awful where were the nfl uni police when this combo was considered? yikes!

– Phil needs a straight jacket. Nothing at all wrong with a helmet not matching shirt and/or pants. Better, more intellectual, in fact.

– Terry D, your Rams, A+.

– Jimvilk, my dear old friend, Nebraska/Wisconsin (same thing) just don’t get it in today’s style. Nubbers pants need to be deeper red with matte finish. Shoulder stripes should just go away.

– And from the headline above, most of those concepts are dreadful. NFL design can’t simply be fixed by changing helmet color design. If that is the idea, go back to the drawing board from each individual circumstance, head to toe. These designs weren’t made for an interchangable assembly line.

– Zupon, that red and blue piping just needs to be completely merged. About 80 miles west! :)

Zupon|
November 7, 2010 at 4:09 pm |

Traxel,

You mean you want to merge K-State with KU? You trying to cause a riot on two campuses?

For the record, I like K-State’s football unis. The invention of the “Powercat” logo was brilliant and whoever did it needs to be put in the K-State hall of fame. Now if only that person could apply their genius to the basketball team….

To everyone else who commented, much appreciated. I was doubtful about the white helmet as well until I saw it. The problem with having red, blue, and yellow on your mascot is that it’s hard to find a good background to put it on.

traxel|
November 7, 2010 at 7:29 pm |

I don’t know what I meant on the merge. Red and blue do make purple, but KU generally looks pretty good in red and blue. I’m not a fan of the Jayhawk logo though, it always looked awkward, sideways with big pilgram shoes, is he walking or toe tapping? Thought they ought to let their graphic team have another go at it. But overall, I like your concepts. And yes, anything but the powercat logo on the KSU helmet represents losing, something we were quite good at for YEARS!

The logo isn’t traditional, I agree, but neither is the Jayhawk. It seems that being unique is a KU tradition. They’re the only team with blue in the sea of red that is the Big 12 (one reason I dislike the red alt jerseys), and of course the mascot itself. There are scores of Wildcats, hundreds of Tigers, but only one Jayhawk.

LI Phil|
November 7, 2010 at 4:28 pm |

“Phil needs a straight jacket. Nothing at all wrong with a helmet not matching shirt and/or pants. Better, more intellectual, in fact.”

gee, mr. “one college team per conference team needs five helmets, five shirts, five pants and five pairs of socks” … i figured YOU of all people would appreciate the possibility of adding a second helmet to a few NFL teams

~~~

and to all those who said the helmets were ridiculous and this post “takes the cake” of trying too hard — i’d welcome some suggestions for weekend content, instead of troll-ery

i’ve been incredibly busy with non-UW stuff the past two-plus months and spent a lot of time on yesterday and today’s posts, and i don’t mind constructive criticism and productive dialog…

i get blasted for wanting to make some teams look “more traditional” and then when i explore something new, i get blasted for that too

i realize my tastes may not gibe with many of yours and that’s fine…and i don’t mind critizism of the “alternate helmets” as a dumb idea (which indeed it may be), or saying saying mismatched helmets and stripes are just dandy … i’d love to hear your ideas for something else

JTH|
November 7, 2010 at 6:52 pm |

Now I know why these spam comments aren’t being deleted. They’re all complimentary.

traxel|
November 7, 2010 at 7:42 pm |

I thought this post was worth the effort to tell us that helmet color flipflopping doesn’t work. They entire getup needs to be coordinated to make it work. I have no problem with adding additional helmets, though I kinda do see a point to keeping one helmet, keeping one thing standard throughout the league, one thing that can be relied on for promotions, for branding, etc. But, that’s more old fuddy duddy thinking and I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more uniform options (but not BFBS). If black is used, have a reason for it. Same for all non-team colors.

I’m not a big fan of Black. Teams that come out with a black version of their current concept (Eagles, Lions, etc.) look stupid. Our previous exercise was to see what other schools would look like with the Oregon concept. I’m not against today’s thoughts. We just found out those helmets suck without thinking cohesively.

Damn Chiefs.

Jim Vilk|
November 7, 2010 at 10:38 pm |

Ben, I agree some teams don’t have to match everything, but switching helmets can help with that. I’d love to see the Texans with the red helmets and blue jerseys (or the white jerseys and blue pants). Like other ideas, some of these worked, some didn’t.

I also agree Nebraska would look better in matte pants, but I’ll take what I can get. And I don’t think those are true shoulder stripes, just high sleeve stripes. I, for one, would heartily encourage the return of their shoulder stripes, though.http://image.cdnl3.xosnetwork.com/pics/200/AECOBULRVPALXPN.20020807205112.jpg
Since they’re moving to the same conference as the Badgers, there’s another reason to bring ’em back.

I said it yesterday after turning on Army Air Force. And seeing Utah. These gimmick uniforms are out of control. College teams only play about 12 games a year. Gimmick uniforms should be worn only one game per season if at all.

Since I like USC’s uniforms I do like Iowa States. But yes they do look darn close to them.

When I had on Purdue and Wisconsin I wondered if Jim would list it. The black vs white did look nice.

Jim Vilk|
November 7, 2010 at 9:38 pm |

I sort of agree when it comes to gimmick uniforms…except that Air Force’s looks so much better than the original uni. They used to have a good normal uni, but they’ve added black accents and that weird side piping.http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0aMZ1nkdXZ5Qv/x610.jpg
It leaves me scratching my head as to why they don’t keep the Thunderbirds uni full-time.

Joel F.|
November 7, 2010 at 4:17 pm |

the colts are wearing their throwbacks with the blue helmets against the eagles today

Gusto44|
November 7, 2010 at 4:31 pm |

Good to see those Colt throwbacks, and the Vikings monochrome looked sharp. Minnesota is one of the few NFL teams able to pull off the monochrome look.

Too bad the Jacksonville Jaguars weren’t allowed to use their prototype helmets and uniforms. The black jaguar head helmet and uniform always seemed like a letdown. The clever aspect of those prototype uniforms was the leaping jaguar across the entire shoulder pad area.

LI Phil|
November 7, 2010 at 5:26 pm |

“Minnesota is one of the few NFL teams able to pull off the monochrome look.”

Been a Falcons fan as far back as I can remember and I still hate seeing ANYTHING in red. Helmets or these gawd awful red Montreal Expos hat mimicking sleeved red monstrosities they wear now. What do I want to see? Keep the current logo but bring back the look they went to in the 1990’s Glanville era and then add some black pants in that theme on the road. Basically this with the current logo and some black pants to throw in on the road:http://www.weirdwolf.net/FFP/images/1990/Atlanta90.gif
I’ve done a mock up of that a long time back but my talents suck doing them so if I make a better copy maybe someday I’ll submit it.

For the others it’s a view I don’t share with a lot out there but I HATE all white on the road in College or Pro football. My view tradition or not they should all have 2 sets of pants, 1 white & 1 team color to wear. Strangely I do like when teams like the Dolphins go all white at home but not when on the road. I hate the all white road look even more when the team has a helmet that’s not white (Alabama, Oklahoma, Browns, Broncos). Just looks even worse than if they have a white helmet (Penn State, Colts, Jets). The white helmet at least balances it out a bit better.

So I take it Reebok or Nike and the NFL will never get the picture and put out the long sleeved throwbacks?? IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK???

Samuel Lam|
November 7, 2010 at 5:06 pm |

Eli Manning is not wearing the stretch fabric Reebok jersey the rest of the Giants are wearing. He’s wearing the version from two years ago, with the NFL equipment logo inside the collar and the sleeves are bigger.

I seem to recall an entry posted a while back where Joe Skiba, the Giants’ equipment, explained how he customizes the jerseys to each player’s preference

Samuel Lam|
November 7, 2010 at 11:36 pm |

I missed that entry. But looking back at photos from this year, Manning had been wearing the stretch fabric jerseys at all the previous games before switching today

Jeff P|
November 7, 2010 at 5:32 pm |

I would just like to point out that the panthers do match their helmet- to the home silver pants. The edited photo with the blue helmet over the blue jersey looks horrible, just unbalanced colorwise. Black socks, silver pants, blue jerseys and helmet. Trainwreck. But with the silver helmet matching the silver pants and providing balance, it’s a great uniform.

If the panthers had a second helmet, it would not be worn with the silver pants. The silver pants and the silver helmet pair- the problem is with the all white road getup, where the silver is out of place. A blue helmet would be nice on that one, though they would probably opt to go with white, which would almost certainly look nice as well.

Flip|
November 7, 2010 at 5:39 pm |

Air Force needs to adopt that Thunderbird helmet as its full-time look. Pronto.

Let me clarify my remarks. I’m not a fan of the side panel striping for the Vikings, but the monochrome for that franchise looks sharp. In a perfect world, the Vikes would team their more traditional jersey with the purple pants of the 1960s. I believe Minnesota pioneered the use of purple in the NFL, so in this case, no problem with mixing and matching.

Watching the Chargers-Texans highlights and wishing the Chargers would go all white, resting those blue pants.

Samuel Lam|
November 7, 2010 at 6:49 pm |

Agreed. I think the all white look should be given a try for the Chargers. Same thing with the Jags. I bet white jerseys with white pants would make them look pretty good.

JTH|
November 7, 2010 at 6:57 pm |

And if they insist on sticking with navy then powder blue or gold socks might be worth a shot.

The original Vikings purple monochrome c1963/64 was,as mentioned, an accident. They had a home game against the Lions and wanted to show the fans their purple road pants, which they wore with white jerseys. They forgot to tell the Lions, who showed up in their road whites. When it became too confusing for the referees and players, the Vikes switched tops on the field at the end of the first quarter and finished in all purple. The purple pants were gone by the end of the season.

Jason|
November 7, 2010 at 6:54 pm |

Take a look. The Citadel wore red jerseys on Saturday for homecoming. Odd. The second link is the special helmet they broke out. Obviously stolen from Tampa Bay.

To all you guys that seem so violently opposed to the idea of alternate helmets… are you also opposed to the alternate jerseys and throwback uniforms?

We already have a few teams wearing a different helmet for 2 games, why not a couple more?

Gusto44|
November 7, 2010 at 8:17 pm |

Don’t have a problem with that, it should be up to the individual team to decide. I recall the 1994 49ers staying with their throwbacks for most of that season, including the playoffs and super bowl.

Teamo|
November 7, 2010 at 8:18 pm |

“Brian, I’ve seen the new design, and it’s safe to say it looks nothing like that.”

Now I am not sure what to think. Hoping the Nats keep the same general color scheme, drop the gold but nothing too radical. Curly W is quite popular in town, hard to see that changing. You know they are going to do an alternate, would like to see a “Nats” script rather than a W or DC.

“Brian, I’ve seen the new design, and it’s safe to say it looks nothing like that.”

Now I am not sure what to think. Hoping the Nats keep the same general color scheme, drop the gold but nothing too radical. Curly W is quite popular in town, hard to see that changing. You know they are going to do an alternate, would like to see a “Nats” script rather than a W or DC lack of one.
(fixed)

Teamo|
November 8, 2010 at 10:28 am |

In a perfect world but, you know they are going to do one, at least have the decency to not make it look like shite.

It’s even more bizarre that the punter took the ensuing kickoff, and that Hanson came back later in the game. Apparently, N. Suh grew up playing soccer, as did one-time emergency kickers Wes Welker and Cincinnati’s #85.

KevinW|
November 7, 2010 at 10:13 pm |

I really don’t care why Detroit thought it was a good idea, I’m just glad I got to see a 300 pound man kick an extra point:

Well, except for not straightening his plant foot, that was good form. I’d give him another shot at it.

=bg=|
November 7, 2010 at 10:26 pm |

Time for a rant.

So I want one of the new 2011 Majestic Dugout Jackets. Just came out. So I figure, let’s go to The Dugout Store @ AT&T Park. I call ’em maybe FIFTEEN TIMES THIS WEEK AND NO ONE EVER ANSWERS THE PHONE. To check and see if they had them, and if they were even open. Website says 10-5, but who knows.

SO WE GO OVER THERE AND GUESS WHAT—THEY DONT CARRY THEM.
“We sent them back to the warehouse for awhile to make room for all these great FEAR THE BEARD shirts.”
I mean, it’s a 43 minute BART ride, and them 6-7 minute MUNI trip.

If the white Jets helmet was good enough for Joe Namath and Matt Snell, it’s good enough for this team. Besides which, I associate the green helmets with guys like Richard Todd and Rich Kotite. Enough said.

KevinW|
November 7, 2010 at 11:03 pm |

The way the Packers-Cowboys game is going right now makes this even more appropriate: